December 29th, 2018: MTSU at Chattanooga

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Middle Tennessee started out on a big run and never surrendered control as the Blue Raiders beat Chattanooga 58-47. A'Queen Hayes had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead MTSU, with Alex Johnson adding 17. The Mocs got strong scoring off their bench, with Bria Dial's 12 points leading the way and Mya Long adding 11, but no other Chattanooga player had more than eight points.

For fashion commentary, putting names to shimmies, ill-advised passes, insecure bandages, shutting down everything, and burning clock, join your intrepid and geographically displaced blogger after the jump.

On to the next one! Strange for a couple of teams from Tennessee to run into each other up here in New York, but I don't question the scheduler. Chattanooga is the designated home team today, and since I don't feel like getting up, I guess we're sort of rooting for them. Besides, I like the kid who liked the drum corps.

Huh, this is awfully early for the captains' meeting with the refs. It's just under fifteen minutes until tip.

Scoreboard operator fell asleep sometime after the first quarter, I'm about 40% certain the PA guy accidentally called Taylor Sutton Taylor Swift, and at least one turnover has been caused by insufficient mopping. The perils of the neutral half of a doubleheader. Middle Tennessee is up 36-24 on Chattanooga at the half. Alex Johnson has 11 points to lead the Blue Raiders, with A'Queen Hayes adding 10 (and one spectacular block). Bria Dial has nine on three threes to lead Chattanooga.

MTSU has a Jersey girl, so they have a pretty big cheering section behind their bench, but a few people have come up from Chattanooga as well.

In the end, MTSU had the better players and made fewer mistakes, just fewer enough to win. Chattanooga showed some heart, but they were too clumsy for their own good and got in their own way too much.

I loathe MTSU's uniforms. I get that they're the Blue Raiders, and that there should naturally be an emphasis on the blue. But there's no trim, and there are no names, and both of these combine with the rounded neckline to make their uniforms look like very nice practice jerseys- but practice jerseys nevertheless. Do better, MTSU. (Also, I realize that this is a neutral-site holiday tournament, but please, can y'all put your coaches in real clothes and not polos?)

Lasonja Edwards came in briefly in each half to relieve Alex Johnson. She did not contribute very much. Jordan Majors played much the same role, though there were stretches when he played alongside Johnson. She's got good height off the bench for them, but she's a little careless with the ball. She wrecked Lakelyn Bouldin on

Alexis Whittington was in barely long enough for the PA guy to notice her existence (which, to be fair, is nothing new for some subs). Tall for a guard. Katie Collier is small and blonde, and there was a sequence where MTSU turned the ball over on what I can only call a collective blonde moment with her and Anna Jones, wherein one of them was sure that the inbounds play involved a handoff and the other was equally sure it did not. It did not go well. There was recriminating. It looked like the Spider-Man meme.

Anna Jones did start the game out like gangbusters with a three and a couple of nifty defensive deflections (I think she was the one who stopped Mollie Melton dead on a fast break). But she was more careless with the ball as the game went on. Taylor Sutton is small, and quick, two qualities that tend to go together in high-level basketball. She seemed to be a lot more omnipresent than the box score would indicate. She kept busy on defense. A'Queen Hayes has great explosiveness ot the basket, and wonderful slashing ability, but her tendency to run the clock down and blithely assume she was going to successfully make the play bit MTSU in the rear a couple of times when Chattanooga answered with a block. She's got ups- the ridiculous block on Arianne Whitaker showed that- but I think she relies too heavily on her perceived ability, which may not pan out against defenses that are prepared for her.

Alex Johnson is a load down low, and she took Arianne Whitaker apart in the early going. She's got a nice passing eye, and I like that she's not a complete ballhog- there were one or two occasions where she called off the ball and set the screen instead. But I don't know how much more there is to her offensive game- the three-pointer that completely deflated Chattanooga can only be described as a desperation heave- and when Chattanooga brought in a different defender, she didn't seem to know how to react immediately. Jess Louro shoots threes. That's literally every shot she took today. She seems to be a pretty streaky shooter- she hit three in the first quarter and then her shot went dead until the fourth. She made a pretty good stop in the first quarter. (But, uh. How to say this delicately? Insell does not appear to value the weight room for his bigs? And Louro's jersey, um, seemed to especially emphasize her, um, chest.)

Rochelle Lee was the player in love with the drum corps in the first half of the doubleheader, and she was the first post off the bench for the Mocs. She gave them good height and an ability to change up the defense on Johnson. Once she got those arms up, and was bending with the pressure, suddenly Johnson was a lot less comfortable. She's got to finish better at the rim, though. Eboni Williams came into the game, committed two quick fouls, one offensive and one frankly unnecessary, and that was pretty much the last we saw of her.

Bria Dial got the second-half start, possibly based on her nice shooting in the first half from beyond the arc. As you may imagine, there were many "dial" puns to be had, because why not? It was interesting to see how Chattanooga's coach handled her hot and cold shooting, and knew when to take her out and put her back in for maximum effectiveness. Mya Long also started the second half, though this may have been due to injury instead of play. She ran point okay, though there were some stupid turnovers in there.

Mollie Melton is fast, though I don't know if she's as fast as she thinks she is- the injury that took her out of the game looked to be some kind of strain or sprain that came from overextending herself. I love the work she did on the fast break, both spurring it for the Mocs and stopping it for the Blue Raiders, and given that her family traveled to see her, I'm really sorry her game had to end like that. Brooke Burns started the game, but was benched for the second half and didn't reenter until late in the third quarter. I can't say I'm surprised. She really contributed nothing except an inability to finish inside. Lakelyn Bouldin got some tough looks to go down, and did a good job of getting to the line.

Arianne Whitaker, for all the grief I gave her about defending Alex Johnson, came up with some big blocks at the end of the clock, when they counted most. She did well inside as well, though I think she may have been one of the many players who had second or third chances at the baket that she just couldn't put down. There was a lot of that going around, enough of it that Chattanooga could have made a real game of it if they'd been able to finish. And while I hate to pile on a player, there were a lot of unforced errors from Shelbie Davenport. I love her heart and hustle, but it seemed really undirected, and caused as much trouble for her team as it did for the opposition. I'm looking at this box score, and I'm amazed at how the turnovers were distributed.

I don't know if Chattanooga is a bad team, but no one in this game really seemed like the kind of player who could take the team on her shoulders and will them to a win. MTSU has that in Johnson and Hayes (whether you want Hayes to be that player or not is a question for another time, perhaps one when I am somewhat more conscious). They seem too much like a team that can't cope with pressure yet- they're fairly young, though.

Officiating was mostly unremarkable, though I remain amazed at their astonishing ability to not call mid-air body slams on people. I mean, really. Wrestling is not a thing here, people.

I honestly expected the traveling fans to be louder, but they really didn't find their stride on either side until the second half, when Chattanooga cut it to six a couple of times. Do better, Tennesseeans and people who root for teams in Tennessee. Y'all didn't come to New York to sit on your hands, right?

I honestly have no idea what Fordham is going to do with Alex Johnson tomorrow, and I don't think Chattanooga is going to enjoy Maine's defense very much.

Read More...

Summary only...

November 18th, 2018: Charlotte at Fordham

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Mary Goulding scored 16 second-half points, and added 12 rebounds, to power Fordham to a comeback win over Charlotte. Bre Cavanaugh had a team-high 20 points for the Rams. Jade Phillips had 23 points to lead Charlotte in the loss, with Jazmin Harris adding 20 off the bench.

For freshmen, Kiwis, hitting the deck, celebrity sightings, dubious calls, and terrible jackets, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.

Good afternoon, basketball fans! We're coming to you from historic Rose Hill Gymnasium on the campus of Fordham University, where the Rams will be taking on the 49ers of Charlotte as a break between two games of a men's tournament. I may be slightly salty about this, but on the other hand, we're getting basically a free half of basketball (between Youngstown State and Florida International) as an appetizer, so I can't be too mad. It's pretty competitive.

Unfortunately, I think Halei Gillis is hurt again, which might explain some of our issues, since we don't have much of a post presence with the unexpected departure of Johanna Klug.

Florida International pulled away in the end, by the way. They have a driving guard, Brian Beard, who took the game over with 36 points. I was impressed. But it's on to what is for us the main event.

I'm about 90% certain I spotted Swin Cash, husband, and kidlet in the crowd. Well, it makes sense, with Tanisha Wright as an assistant for Charlotte.

Good Lord, there are a lot of blondes with ponytails on this year's Fordham squad. At least some of them have different hairstyles, and we do have a few non-blondes (and, y'know, people of color).

Under Armour doesn't pull off the camo shooting shirts well, at least not in maroon.

Yes, I can turn my wrist like a stir-fry, thanks for asking. I have, in fact, made a stir-fry.

No anthem, since this was the second of three consecutive games. Band has arrived for the Fordham portion of the program, and they are rocking it.

Given that our defense is anchorless and we have almost no height worth mentioning, I'm actually sort of relieved that we're only down 36-29 at the break. Bre Cavanaugh is doing Bre things, with 11 points and five rebounds. Jazmin Harris has made a splash off the bench for Charlotte, with 10 points in nine minutes.

Yes, that is definitely Swin, because that is most definitely T-Spoon, and that is also Kristin Bernert. (I still love my Libs. It's just going to be a long-distance relationship until the team is out of That Dump.) And that is also Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe. (It went essentially: "That looks like Bird, but I don't think it's her." *notices platinum blonde sitting next to her*)

I was expecting us to miss G'mrice Davis's presence. I didn't realize how badly we'd be hurting for Johanna Klug's, especially with Halei hurt.

And then Kiwis happened.

Okay, okay, you're going to get somewhat more detail than that. If nothing else, that doesn't really define Charlotte all that well.

I guess Jada McMillian was the player who came in when Lauren Hurley fouled out, since she didn't play very much and I don't remember her. Ka'Neeshia Brown got some run in the first quarter as a long forward. Christian Hithe didn't make a noticeable impact.

Oh my goodness, Jazmin Harris. I can't believe she's only a true freshman. She has such a soft shooting touch for a big post, and she moves so well, and she has such a sense of where to be on the floor. I keep thinking there's no way she can stay this good, that she's going to hit the wall at some point, but if she doesn't, Charlotte's got something special in her. Mariah Linney got the guard minutes off the bench in the second half. She showed a tendency to throw elbows in the first half, but toned it down more in the second.

Dara Pearson somehow managed to get her first name pronounced three different ways in the course of the game. Like many of Charlotte's players, she's long and lanky. That may not have been the right match-up for this game. Octavia Jett-Wilson did some nice work boxing out in the early going. Lauren Harley drove the lane for lay-ups, and at the end of the game, she seemed to be the only player interested in fouling Fordham. Now, whether that's because Charlotte was ready to concede and she didn't want to, or because she was the only one keeping track of the fouls and the clock, I'm not sure.

Laia Raventós ran the Charlotte offense fairly smoothly- there were some stretches where her passes were a little too enthusiastic for her teammates to handle, but overall she was pretty impressive at the point. Jade Phillips was the focal point of the offense, going to the rack for lay-ups. She had stuff spin in and out a few times, but she also took a lot of contested shots once the defense learned how to collapse on her.

Charlotte, for the most part, seems to go for the long and skinny type, with the notable exception of Harris. Their end-game clock management needs work.

Alexa Giuliano came off the bench in the first half, played maybe three possessions, and came off having a lively discussion with Coach Gaitley. I have no idea what it was about. Vilisi Tavui looked way out of her depth, which is a problem since she's one of our few tall players right now. Extremely not good. Catherine Polisano gave pretty good minutes at guard in the first half- not great, but pretty solid and heady.

I was impressed with Megan Jonasson's offensive rebounding. She's already showing the kind of heart and hustle we know Fordham best for. She still needs work, but she seems to be developing well. Zara Jillings took over in the fourth quarter with a little scoring burst and the kind of tough-nosed defense we've come to expect from her. She came in and shut down whoever she was assigned to.

Bre Cavanaugh stepped up in the second and third quarters. She's such a Swiss Army knife on offense. Her rebounding has picked up from last year, which makes her even more dangerous. I love her potential. I love what she's already doing for us. I'm going to continue to side-eye those shots that Lauren Holden persists in taking from somewhere in the vicinity of Cape May, because while they stretch the opposing defense, they're not very accurate, and sometimes we need more accuracy than we need spacing. Maybe it was just this game, but something was off about her. Kendell Heremaia did not cover herself with glory in the early going, with careless fouls and uncharacteristic defensive lapses (I don't often see people blow right past Kendell going to the basket). But in the fourth quarte,r she found her stroke, and it was glorious.

I really hope this was an uncharacteristically awful game from Kaitlyn Downey, because otherwise I have no idea why she's starting. Her shot was terrible and came entirely too often. She couldn't get lift on it, but that didn't stop her from putting it up. It was extremely not good, to put it lightly. She looked lost and out of her depth. And then Kiwis happened. In the fourth quarter, Mary Goulding put on her cape and got to work. Everything she touched went into the basket. She laid down monster blocks and pulled down big boards. She doesn't do what you want her to do all the time, but she does what you need her to do. She was the biggest reason we were able to come back in this game. I just.

Look, I said Kiwis happened, and for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, the only points we got were from our three New Zealand natives. The rest of the squad arrived in time, but Kenny, Zara, and especially Mary came through big time.

Seriously, though, this is Division I basketball, not streetball. The rules are not "no blood, no foul". It's possible to call things other than jump balls.

I'm deeply concerned about our defense, and our lack of height. You probably guessed that by now, though. But we have players who can step up when the team needs them.

Read More...

Summary only...

November 11th, 2018: UT San Antonio at Seton Hall (Tip-Off tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Seton Hall came on strong and never faltered in a 84-53 win over the Roadrunners of UTSA. Shadeen Samuels had 23 points to lead the Pirates. Marie Benson had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Roadrunners.

For long days, fantastic passing, hard bleachers, cleaning up the place, slashing, and orange things, join your intrepid and backwards blogger after the jump.

On we go, because basketball never stops, and also, it would be very silly not to see the Seton Hall game when we're, y'know, at Seton Hall. And while I can be very silly, especially when sleep deprived, I'm not silly in this regard.

UTSA is very orange. Our gear is all-white everything. Looks like Kimi Evans is sitting out this game again.

That awkward moment when your co-worker realizes that the keys on the bleacher are, in fact, yours. You know that face. The gritted teeth. The wince. (Sorry I didn't say anything earlier, D.)

At halftime, Seton Hall is up big on UTSA, 55-23. Everyone's scoring. Femi Funeus looks really good, and Shadeen Samuels is doing quite a number of Shadeen things. Marie Benson has been the Roadrunners' lone bright spot, and even she's been hampered by foul trouble.

I just got a look at the all-tournament trophies. They are cheap and hideous.

Brief pregame ceremony honoring Ela Mukosiej, who's an assistant at UTSA and a Seton Hall alumna (which explains why they're here, I would think). Explains why Phyllis Mangina is here, too, since she was the coach at that time.

Guys, you might want to do a better job of cleaning out the bleachers. I killed a pen on Tuesday and found part of it here on Sunday.

Lemons into lemonade: Inja Butina got knocked to the floor with no call on a defensive stand, which put her in perfect position to grab the rebound when it hit the floor.

Once again, the competition wasn't exactly lighting up the court, but Seton Hall certainly looked good. That frontcourt is going to be something special.

The Roadrunners used everyone that they used for pretty much about the same amount of time. I don't know if that was because of the margin, because of Marie Benson's early foul trouble, or because that's how they roll in San Antonio.

I liked what I saw out of Timea Tóth on defense- she's got good length and she seems to know how to use it to deflect and rebound. Mandi Cooks came in and got her offensive rebound pretty quickly. Kourtney Kekec did some really good work on the boards, scoring on a putback, and got stronger as the game went on.

I don't remember if Deja Cousin was the one who kept shooting the airballs, but she wasn't hitting the long balls she took. I think by the end of the game I was seriously flaking on the scorecards- cut me some slack? I'm really wiped. I don't even remember Charlotte Ellmore coming off the bench in the first half, but she clearly must have done, because she played 20 munutes and didn't start. I don't think she made much of an impression, in that case.

For a long time, Marie Benson was the only UTSA player who could score at all. She did a nice job getting inside and putting up layups, but she had a propensity to foul, and getting the charge early in the second quarter for her third foul killed anything that might have vaguely resembled momentum. Barbara Benson's goggles and choice of hairdo have the unfortunate, and presumably unintended, effect of making her look like the nerdy younger sister. She did most of her work in the fourth quarter, when Seton Hall was sagging off the defense. Tija Hawkins came off as herky-jerky- long limbs and height, but not the world's greatest amount of coordination for either. She threw up some shots in the fourth, but I'm pretty sure a lot of those were from when Femi Funeus had four fouls and had to back off on defense.

Ryann Stearns had a really nice deflection to break up a sure fast break for Seton Hall. She's feisty. I like that in a player. I honestly don't remember any impact Karrington Donald had on the game. I'm sure she must have done something, but she didn't do enough to make her memorable. (And that's harder when your team doesn't have names on the back of their jerseys. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.)

The end times are upon us, WNBA fans. Danielle Robinson hit a three. Wait, no, not that one, we're okay. Sorry, Pirate Danielle, you're in for a long four years of this. She's definitely the most froshy of our three freshmen, but I can see the flexibility and the strength she might be able to give us if she develops over the next few years. Diandra DaRosa seemed to take more pleasure in getting good passes than in scoring buckets, which is perfectly acceptable. Frustrating when you want the team to light the tree, but acceptable. At least she got one to go down. Kaity Healy canned a couple of back-to-back threes that got the crowd roaring. I'm still disappointed in her newfound tendency to commit stupid fouls, though. Kaela Hilaire found the in-between gear she was missing the other day against Wagner, and there was a great play where she made the extra pass (to Desiree, I think, but don't hold me to it) that I don't think she would have made on the break last year.

The more I see of Desiree Elmore, the more I like her. I think some time on the bench getting used to the system will do her a lot of good, and then she'll be an amazing complement to Shadeen Samuels once our guard logjam graduates. (I'm really starting to wonder if Tony thought that part of the plan through, to be honest.) I'd like her to do a better job of finishing at the rack, but that might just be an off day. Selena Philoxy got called for a lot of fouls that I, naturally, disagreed with. She's tough, and she's physical, and she killed it on the offensive glass. I love what she brings to the floor, and I love the joy she brings off it. Femi Funeus looks very promising, except for her hands. She's got to do a better job of catching passes and holding on to the ball. But in pretty much every other way, she looks far more advanced than a freshman. The idea of her and Kimi and Shadeen in the frontcourt is glorious and terrifying at the same time.

Whitney Howell played scared for much of the game, or at least that's what it looked like. She was tentative and got caught looking at the ball more than once. The rim didn't like her- she should have had at least three points, except for puck luck. Shadeen Samuels got a couple of early threes to go down, which might have encouraged her to take the ones in the second half that didn't go down. She's amazing as a slasher, and so quick on defense. I wish she'd play, or be played, more to her strengths, instead of to the fads of her position.

Victoria Cardaci's shot wasn't going down, but she made up for it with defense. If she can do that on a regular basis, I'll be okay with her starting. I'm just not enthusiastic about starting her if she doesn't. Inja Butina was a little more hesitant than I would have liked, but brought hustle on both ends of the floor. It's hard to argue with someone who's rebounding while down on the ground.

I love the speed of our offense, and the ball movement was amazing. There were some plays that made you yearn for the hockey-style assist to be tabulated- the sequence with Kaela, Desiree, and Victoria comes to mind. And the defense looks good too. We'll face bigger tests than this, but it's good to see the chemistry working so well so fast, with as many new players to integrate into the scheme as we have.

It looked like we had one experienced ref and a couple of rookies. That seems to be a trend in the early going this season. I guess there are worse times to let the rookies get their sea legs. I'm still not sure how running into a screen is a foul on the player doing the running, but I guess that's why I'm not an official.

Shoutout to the folks who showed up to back the Roadrunners. It's a long trip from San Antonio.

I know we play our tougher competition on the road, or at least at neutral sites, but I'm still looking forward to seeing us against stronger competition to see if we're really all we're cracked up to be.

Read More...

Summary only...

December 13th, 2015: North Texas at Iona

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Mean Green mounted a third-quarter comeback behind 10 of Kelsey Criner's 19 points, but it wasn't enough to erase a 21-point halftime deficit, and Iona came away with the 62-51 home win. Alexis Lewis led all scorers with 22 off the bench for the Gaels, who got 17 points from Philecia Gilmore and 10 points and 19 rebounds from Joy Adams. Teadra Jones added 13 for North Texas, while Bria Frierson flirted with a double-double, ending at nine points and 12 rebounds.

For localized rosters, music making people come together, bad decisions, big threes, counting down to defense, hard bleachers, and questionable pizza, join your intrepid and fatigued blogger after the jump.


I may regret this being gameday after karaoke last night, but it is in fact game day, as Iona faces North Texas. It'll be our first home game of the season for the Gaels, and I'm looking forward to seeing some of the rumored changes at Hynes. I'm also looking forward to seeing the North Texas team that knocked off Oklahoma.

Aaaaand I'm really not seeing how North Texas knocked off Oklahoma, given that they're down 36-14 to an Iona team that's not the Iona team that gave Marist fits, including a one-field-goal quarter. Alexis Lewis is on fiyah for the Gaels, with 14 all by herself. This is probably the best coaching job I've seen on the Iona bench in a few years.

Aaaaaand then the third quarter happened, with some of the dumbest basketball I've ever seen from a team I root for, and I can't even word some of it. How do you forget the shot clock twice in the same quarter? I think people just get their kicks out of making me look stupid.

Kasiney Williams is the tiniest basketball player I've seen in Division I in my life! I've seen a lot of short guards, and I've seen a lot of slight guards, but she's super short and she's super slight. I think Leilani Mitchell- she who the Board Junkies call Fluffy Little Bunny- has four inches and forty pounds on her. She left the door open for short jokes when her first shot attempt was a fast break lay-up that ticked the underside of the rim. She's fearless, though, but I guess you have to be if you're going to play D-I basketball at that size. Brooke Jolivette played brief minutes in the first half, of minimal interest.

Acheil Tac showed some flashes of athleticism in going for loose balls. She could do with a little bit of meat on her bones- might make her more effective in not getting knocked around down low without sacrificing any of her sproing. That's a science word, dontcha know. Tosin Mabodu mixed it up in the middle a little bit. There's something I like about her, but I can't put my finger on it.

Bria Frierson took care of business near the basket, at least on the boards. She positioned herself well opposite the shooter and got good reads off the rim. She took a lot of hits and made the most of the contact she got. Terra Ellison seemed constantly surprised that anyone would consider calling a foul on her when she was so always clearly wronged. (Sarcasm mode enabled.) Throw up bad shots, you're going to miss them. It's going to happen.

Teadra Jones got some nice baskets on the fast break. Candace Adams did her scoring late, getting on the board in the middle of the fourth quarter. She was aggressive on defense. I was most impressed with Kelsey Criner, whose name our PA announcer so carefully enunciated so as to not garble the C into a G and imply a familial relationship where none existed. She's the kind of guard who draws my eye and keeps my attention: aggressive, athletic, able to score outside and in, willing to gamble hard on the ballhandler, maybe not the best defender in the world within the system but who makes plays happen. I like her.

I think the Mean Green got more aggressive in the second half. It helped that the shots were falling when they hadn't been falling before, but they were getting better shots and closing the door on second chances on the boards.

With this specific starting lineup, I like the idea of bringing both Alexis Lewis and Aaliyah Robinson off the bench. They're both streaky shooters, but the odds of both of them being off on a given day are pretty slim; this way you can play the hot hand. Each of them also has her own knack: Alexis pressures the ball better, while A-Rob boxes out players far bigger than she is and goes hard for rebounds. Today Alexis was the hot hand, beyond the arc, on the break, and in the midrange. There's something about the way she holds herself, and the way she wears her hair, that reminds me of Damika last year. She's not Damika Martinez, not by a long shot, but I see what the hype is about. Aaliyah had trouble finding her range- if anything, she was getting too close to the line and shooting too strong. Clearly she needs to challenge herself more.

Iida Ahnenvainen came in briefly near the end of the first half, threw the ball away, and never saw the light of day again. I could be petty here, and I could be snide, but it's not really worth it. Ashley Murray is growing on me. When she makes moves to the basket, and when she makes her presence felt, good things happen for the Gaels. She just has to watch her feet, but more on that later. Aurellia Cammock came into the game for brief spurts when the starters were in foul trouble, and she cleaned up on the glass. She has to be willing to go back up with the ball, though. You're not going to get minutes if you don't try to score.

¿Qué te pasa, Marina Lizarazu? Her shot was really, really bad today. She always goes too much to the left, but even her left-handed shot in the lane had failed her for most of the day. She showed some flashy passes, even if they mostly ended up being footnotes to missed shots. Philecia Gilmore started the game off red hot, hitting three straight threes to open the scoring for Iona. She's sometimes too aggressive for her own good, but I think I'd rather that than a player who's not willing to make plays.

I love Karynda DuPree's blocks, and I love when she hits that little drop shot in the lane, and I love when she's not jacking ridiculous threes. I don't love when she's standing around instead of rebounding, or when the ball goes off her hands, or when she commits moving screens. Treyanna Clay ran the press well with Alexis Lewis, but that was her only major contribution to the game. Joy Adams needs to hit her bunnies, but I love how she skies for rebounds. Joy frustrates me sometimes, and I don't know if it's how she's being used or how she responds to it. I don't think the current system plays to her strengths, and I think her response is not to work within it, but to work against it. She's going to do her thing, come hell or high water, or she's going to be bad a the things she's told to do. There's failure to communicate at both ends, and I don't think the constant flux in the starting lineup helps that.

Things were going really well in the first half. I thought this was the best lineup we could run out there, and I liked the sub patterns as well. Then the third quarter hit and everything turned into a trainwreck. The first play that bothered me was a held ball- with one second left on the shot clock, Alexis was tied up with a North Texas player, UNT arrow. Iona called timeout. Under the old rules, that wasn't a bad play. But you get one fewer timeout now. In this case, I would have saved the timeout, let the arrow go, and then had the arrow in my favor. It didn't help that they came out of the timeout with no sense of urgency.

The next issue came at about 6:42 of the third quarter, when the clocks stopped briefly. I thought it was a two-second stop, which would have put the shot clock at 9. The officials disagreed with me, moving the clock forward five seconds, so that there was 6 left on the shot clock. The team came out of the official stoppage and played the possession out as if they thought they had 9 seconds. You have to know time and score when you come out of a timeout. No excuses.

There were a lot of mental lapses in general in that game. Too many Iona players boxed out their own teammates or displaced their own rebounders. Aaliyah accidentally took out Ashley. Things like that. We've got to be sharper. We've got to have better common sense, at the very least.

Other than that issue with the clock, I didn't really have any issues with the officiating, but counting seconds shouldn't be that difficult, should it?

Nice shooting during the timeout contest.

We have a band now! Okay, it's more of a quintet, and it's more jazz and less pep, but we have a band! Iona's also one of the few schools to take advantage of the new rules about music during stoppages, piping in chant cues before the ball is triggered in.

The official attendance is 503. I call shenanigans. 300 at most.

There's a lot of work that needs to be done still, and I don't know if this is the right combination of player and coaching personnel to get it done.

Read More...

Summary only...

December 18th, 2011: Memphis at St. John's (Chartwell's Holiday Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: It was tight at the end, but St. John's came out as champions of their holiday tournament with a 64-60 win over Memphis. Shenneika Smith had 18 points for the Red Storm, while Brittany Carter had 23 for the Tigers.

For jackets, the incandescent rage of Kim Barnes Arico, Panthers (or possibly Seawolves), and the show-the-ball trick, join your intrepid and decorated blogger after the jump.
Finally, after entirely too long, it was time for the second game, and nothing says “pressed for time” like the team going straight from the stands to the court. I think the long delay due to both the foul issues and the, y'know, triple freakin' overtime left both teams a little out of sorts.

Big games mean tight rotations. Ann Jones was the reserve post, coming mostly to shift the forwards and set screens. Danay Collier was the reserve guard, mostly there to give the guards a break. She was a little bit of a threat from the outside, but not much else.

I love the way Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir runs the offense. She's going to keep Memphis fun to watch for a couple of years; if she's this fast a year off a torn ACL, I wish I could have seen her at full speed. Jasmine Lee was shut down- she was able to get position often, but she wasn't able to get the ball and move on the smaller posts. Unfortunately for us, that meant letting Brittany Carter get loose and shoot, and shoot, and shoot some more. She's got a pretty stroke. I like her hustle and her work in the lanes. Nicole Dickson also had a good game. Fouls got her in the second half. Ramses Lonlack is very much a loose cannon, and there are times when I like a player like that, but this wasn't one of those days. Well, as a St. John's fan, it was, but as a basketball fan, it wasn't.

Memphis stays on you. You can't show them weakness. I look forward to their matchups with UAB. They're similar enough in attitude that those games are doing to be interesting, to say the least.

Da'Shena Stevens is back. Be afraid, Big East. Be very, very afraid. By the time she gets to you, her shot is going to be all the way back, and her defense is already on point. She's still getting used to her teammates again, but when she's got Nadirah spearheading the break... this is going to be good. Tesia Harris's on-ball defense could use some work, but she had a good stretch in the middle of the game where she was contesting shots and pulling down rebounds like nobody's business. She's going to be one of those players we don't necessarily expect a lot from, but expect a steady stream of something from.

If I had a wee bit more of an ego, I'd think Shenneika Smith read the GNoD this morning and decided that she didn't like being called out for being less active than usual in the last couple of games. She was much more assertive today, coming up with the big shots in the first half. She had a couple of boneheaded passing plays that she knew were bad, but you live with those with her. Keylantra Langley got entirely too cute with her ballhandling, which is not the greatest of plans when facing an opponent with very quick hands (nine turnovers, Jesus Christ, you know Kim Barnes Arico tore her a new one for that). She's a good substitute, but she's not a point guard. Amber Thompson had a rough start shooting, but was able to get herself in better position in the second half and hit some shots inside. I love how she works, I really do. Eugeneia McPherson put up some wild and ridiculous shots that had no business going up. At leats she got free throws for some of them in the first half, but I'm going to lay off my usual soapboxing vis a vis the focus on drawing the foul first instead of attempting to hit the shot. I'm tired and you've heard it all before. Which is also why I'm going to lay off Mary Nwachukwu; she didn't do anything she hasn't been doing all season, and by 2012 she's going to be coming off the bench anyway, so I'm going to do a little work for my blood pressure and let go of my frustrations about her inability and/or unwillingness to use her size.

I was waiting for Kim to kill someone. There was a point in the game where (I think) Keylantra was pinned against the sideline by a Memphis trap and about to be forced out of bounds or into a five-seconds-stationary call. Kim was screaming for a timeout loudly enough for those of us in the tenth row to hear... somehow, Bonita Spence and the crew managed to miss it. Kim was... incensed. To put it mildly. The same situation happened a couple of possessions later, and Kim called the timeout with such an exaggerated gesture that we nearly died of laughter. And then they missed it again. Combine that with some sketchy block/charge calls, and I was pretty sure that one of those stiletto heels was going to be turned into a weapon.

Memphis brought a very loud contingent for both games, including one lost lady who persisted in sitting in our section for the first half. Ma'am, if you have been informed that you're sitting directly behind the opposing coach's family, you might want to move, as if sitting next to the band and behind the cheerleaders wasn't enough of a hint.

Football is stupid.

I can't say I'm overjoyed with this result, but a win is a win.

All-tournament team: Jasmine Bendolph of Louisiana Tech, Brittany Carter and Jasmine Lee of Memphis, and Shenneika Smith and Da'Shena Stevens of St. John's, with Eugeneia McPherson as MVP.

My picks: Carter, Smith, Shantale Bramble-Donaldson of Louisiana Tech, Kiara Etienne of Prairie View, and Nicole Dickson of Memphis (or Kiara Young of Louisiana Tech), with McPherson as MVP. Etienne got screwed.

Read More...

Summary only...

December 17th, 2011: Memphis at Louisiana Tech (Chartwell's Holiday Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Memphis Tigers put the pedal to the metal and never looked back in an 86-67 win over the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech. Brittany Carter led all scorers with 24 points, while Jasmine Lee put in 23 for Memphis. Louisiana Tech got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Shantale Bramble-Donaldson.

For emptiness, awkwardness, team colors, and a ball of confusion, join your intrepid and sleepless blogger after the jump.

So then everyone left. The end.

I'm mostly kidding, but there's something painful about the neutral game in a hosted tournament. At least with the home team playing, you get the atmosphere of a game. But when the band packs up to go home and the cheerleaders put on real clothes and the bulk of the crowd leaves, things get quiet, and a little depressing. You can hear the referees communicating, the voices from the bench, everything.

Liberty fans, I am disappointed. You were enticed with the promise of Teresa Weatherspoon, and where were you? Shopping? You could shop tomorrow. Lucky you, the awkward choice doesn't have to be made.

We could have ended up with an awkward situation if both the family of Memphis guard Bilqis Abdul-Qaddir and the family of one of the Louisiana Tech assistants had stayed in our section. But the Memphis folks moved along behind the road bench, and we scared off the Louisiana Tech family. I'm okay with that. I like my space to yell at the refs.

There's something very 21st-century about hijab accompanied by a Memphis supporters' scarf.

I was more impressed with Memphis than I was expecting, but then, I've been skeptical of Memphis since around the time Tamika Whitmore gave up on being a consistent player. So sue me. I hold grudges sometimes. They play a lot taller than they are, and they're fast.

Lauren McGraw had a tendency to play a bit out of control- lots of fun flash, but a lot of moving faster than she was ready for. Danay Collier got a fair bit of playing time in her homecoming, but I can't recall much of what she did- I was surprised to find she had played that much, to be honest. Ann Jones came off the bench as sixth woman in the first half and showed a little touch, though the illegal screen she drew as one of her first moves was not exactly a promising portent. McFerrin only threw in most of her bench near the end of the game, so they weren't in a position to do anything exciting or interesting.

Jasmine Lee impressed me, though I can see the flaws in her game. Her stamina and conditioning could stand some improvement, but I like her instincts. She worked hard in the paint. Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir ran a nice offense- she's small, but she's effective, and fast. Brittany Carter's athleticism impressed me- she had a resounding block that we could hear on the other side of the court. Nicole Dickson displayed a little range, but also athleticism. I was most intrigued by senior guard Ramses Lonlack- she plays a lot taller than she is, and she has the footwork of a soccer player. Control wasn't great, but Memphis seems to like to play fast and frenetic.

Spoon, give Sophia back her 1999/2000 hair. Some things just aren't right.

Louisiana Tech went deep into their bench- everyone played at least five minutes, but I don't think Savanna Langston's five minutes were terribly impactful. Tavasha Anderson moves well for a big girl. Kanedria Andrews got into a lot of plays late in the game, but I think they were expecting her to do a lot more earlier in the game. Kiara Young brought speed, and offense, but not much else.

It's probably for the best that Courtney Hayes didn't do anything of note, because somehow she didn't make it onto the roster that St. John's printed up. So now I'm confused and don't know anything about her. Jasmine Bendolph showed a nice stroke, but I think she might be having back problems- she looked a little pained, and I thought I saw a heating pad come off her during one timeout when she was about to check in. Shantale Bramble-Donaldson did a good job establishing position down low, but Memphis was able to make her less of a factor in the second half. Whitney Jones can play- nothing spectacular, but a nice all around game from her.

Ah, the peril of double-headers when I can't bring the computer to the game. Things get vague, especially when people keep distracting me.

My husband/viewing partner/distraction pointed out that Louisiana Tech threw a lot of high passes, and wondered whether there's just that little height in the WAC. They were fast, and had great ball movement, but I'm not sure whether they are really her team yet. They made a lot of stupid mistakes and couldn't hit a lot of easy shots. I expected a lot better out of them, and maybe they were just off their game today. We'll see more tomorrow. Or today. Time travel tense trouble here.

The officiating bothered me- not necessarily because of the quality of the calls, but because it looked like they weren't sure who was the crew chief. Spence and Aliberti got into a debate early in the game.

Crowning Moment of Funny: Shantale Bramble-Donaldson grabs a rebound. Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir rips it out of her hands cleanly and promptly falls over on the endline. The whistle blows. Teresa Weatherspoon explodes, charging off the sideline to protest the call. The funny part? It was a travel on Memphis for Abdul-Qaadir rolling with the ball. Nothing says WTF like screaming bloody blue murder at a ref who's making a call in your favor... even as your team inbounds the ball.

Hello, Chris, you poor unfortunate bastard! Did you miss us? Because we miss you. I have no idea whether anything did go on at Taffner Field House; we had a long walk home to look forward to.

Tomorrow's matchups will be fun, and Lordie, do I wish Cynthia Cooper was still at Prairie View right about now.

Read More...

Summary only...

December 19th, 2010: Fresno State at Southern Miss (Chartwells Holiday Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: 28 points from Jaleesa Ross and 21 from Rosie Moult led Fresno State over Southern Miss, 88-51. Rachel Vigers led Southern Miss with 18 points and 9 rebounds.

For line changes, accolades, three-point shooting, and random acts of St. John's fans, join your intrepid and ardent blogger after the jump.
Noon is too early for a basketball game to tip off. Of course, I'm biased, because I like to be there when the gates open, which means that I'm in my seat a little after eleven if it's a noon tip. And we left the house a little early, so we were at St. John's by 10:30, which gave us a chance to wish Fresno State good luck against Southern Miss. (Their coaching staff agreed that that game was rough. They also said we were the fans of the game, which I thought was a magnanimous gesture. So we decided to root for them.)

The place was deserted even at the first tip. Have I mentioned that noon is too early for basketball? Because St. John's wasn't in the first game, the cheerleaders and band and whatnot weren't in, so we got a recorded anthem and canned music. For noise, it was the two benches, the two of us, and a couple of band guys who came in early and joined us in cheering for Fresno State and against Southern Miss.

Adrian Wiggins was prepared for the Golden Eagles' physicality. Of course, he had more options than we did, but he was still willing to sub liberally, especially in the second half. Veronica Wilson set the tone by going toe to toe with Tanisha Washington and making it clear that if Washington wanted to play, she was going to find herself tangling with someone who used to practice against Carolyn Swords and Stefanie Murphy on a regular basis. She couldn't hit a bunny for love nor money, but she didn't need to. Emma Andrews showed a lot of nerve trying to guard Rachel Vigers, who has four inches and a lot of weight on her. Marnique Arnold showed no fear of anybody on her back-to-back and-ones. They got some decent minutes out of Bree Farley at guard. We got to see a few younger players, like Jeanna Furst, who put up a big block; Alex Furr, who showed impressive range from beyond the arc; and Blakely Goldberg, who played well inside. Wiggins kept his players fresh with wholesale subs in the second half- we're talking hockey style line changes.

Rosie Moult did a couple of things well. Her hands were active and her defense had bright spots. But the thing she did best was camp out on the wing and put up threes. She didn't make any of her own shots, but she didn't need to. Hayley Munro did a nice job of cleaning up on the offensive boards. Taylor Thompson's release continues to be funky, but her range is impressive, and her defensive intensity is unmatched. When a little bitty guard is defending big physical centers, and doing it well, that says a lot. Taja Edwards was in and out for Wilson a lot, and she wasn't much of a factor. Jaleesa Ross had the game that I thought she was going to have yesterday. Her shots were falling, her teammates were catching her passes, her hands were more active- all of that. I'm not sure I was thrilled with her taking threes late in the game with Washington on her- I thought for sure she was going to be targeted, and if I were Adrian Wiggins, that's a risk I wouldn't have wanted to take.

Fresno runs a couple of drills that I really like. One is a rapid change of direction drill, where the leader shouts out which way they're going and changes it on a dime, including diving forwards and backwards for loose balls. Another is a defensive drill, where the pass comes in low, and as the "offensive" player scoops it up, the "defensive" player is suddenly all up in her face, hands up and going "Ball, ball, ball, ball!" That one looks like a good way to show players how to put on pressure, and how to take it.

Southern Miss behaved themselves for the first half of the game, and then as the lead ballooned for Fresno, some of the misbehavior that reared its ugly head yesterday showed up today. Elbows came out a little more. Hips protruded. Players went flying for no good reason. Other such charming things. And over it all, the hoarse, high-pitched, heavily accented screech of the Southern Miss coach. Oh, it was glorious finally yelling "SHUT UP ALREADY!" at her near the end of the game.

She went a little deeper into her bench this time, but not as much as she could have. I really do think it would have made more sense to go deep into the bench on the second consecutive day of getting beat down like a redheaded stepchild, but no one pays me for this. Nia Bradford continued to overdo it, looking very much like a player who was looking for playing time by any means possible, and if that meant falling into line with what the coach wanted, then that was what she would do. Fresno did a good job of keeping Ewa Urbanowska from being much of a factor on the inside. Danielle Johnson continued to shoot and miss.

The diving by Washington and Geneshia Dunbar was hilarious. I'm sorry, but you're not getting any sympathy. Dunbar set a legal Screen of Death that people were screaming to be called a foul, but it was clean, it was legal, and if you're stupid enough to run into a screen after your teammate calls it out, you deserve to see stars. Brittany Johnson was mostly confusing, because she and Danielle Johnson subbed for each other. Washington continued to be overphysical, with the bonus of being able to mock her shooting. Rachel Vigers was a bit more aggressive on defense than she had been yesterday, and still very effective for her height in the paint. Jamierra Faulkner continues to impress me- she needed more shots this time, but I still like her style.

The referees had a better grip on this game than they did yesterday. I think they were aware of what happened yesterday, and what could have happened, and didn't want it to happen again. I only saw one or two Fresno players go off injured, and they were only small injuries.

Some of the St. John's players drifted in and out during the game, in various states of uniform and health. I think we scared the daylights out of Briana Brown when we were going full throttle for Fresno. We waved at a few of them, and at least on Twitter Jennifer waved back.

It was very cathartic to see Southern Miss get their comeuppance. I never said I was fair, or neutral, or anything like that.

Read More...

Summary only...

December 18th, 2010: Southern Miss at St. John's (Chartwell's Holiday Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: St. John's built an early cushion in the second half and used it as protection in an 81-50 win that ended with only four players on the floor for the Red Storm. Eugeneia McPherson's career-high 23 points led all scorers, with Shenneika Smith adding 19 points and 8 rebounds. Rachel Vigers led Southern Miss with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

For an accounting of the injured, carefully controlled seething rage, acts of awesomeness, and eligibility questions, join your intrepid and infuriated blogger after the jump.
It's never a good sign when one of the assistants asks you if you have eligibility left... and you're not sure if she's joking or not. It was that rough of a game. (And to be fair, I'm one of maybe three people she could ask who at least comes with her own jersey.)

I don't know how often I've told the story of the Iona game, the one where I fell in fandom love with Joy McCorvey, the one where we were down to five players in the second half due to surgeries, ineligibility, injuries, and random disappearances. It was even weirder today.

There are fourteen players listed on the Red Storm roster. Elón Sidney hasn't been seen all season. Tesia Harris and Mary the Redshirt are both sitting out their transfer year. So that brings us down to eleven active players. For whatever reason, Briana Brown was sitting out this game in street clothes. Okay, down to ten players. Still a fairly good rotation, right?

Then Da'Shena Stevens was knocked to the floor and concussed; out for the game and down to nine. Then Coco Hart twisted her ankle; out for the half. Halftime. Coco was tripped again and wrenched her ankle; out for the game and down to eight. Then Sky Lindsay twisted her ankle; out for the game and down to seven. Then Jennifer Blanding fouled out; out for the game and down to six. Then Nadirah McKenith was hit in her already-injured thumb; out for the game and down to five. Then Shenneika Smith was slide-tackled and her ankle twisted badly; out for the game and down to four.

You heard me. We played the last two minutes with only four players. And as far as I'm concerned, Eugeneia McPherson, Amanda Burakoski, Keylantra Langley, and Zakiyyah Shahid-Martin are now certified BAMFs.

No, I am really not amused by Southern Mississippi right now, whatever gave you that idea? It might have been the bit where Tanisha Washington was gooning like she had a checklist. Or the bit where they were fouling hard down 30. Or the part where the coach sent the aforementioned Washington back in with forty-odd seconds left, who started the game, when we were down to four players. Or the bit where they were trying to throw down with Eugeneia and Key at the four-player mark. Or the part where they were rolling the ball with nine seconds left and down 30.

Started out nice, too. We were in good voice, the band was on their game (a marching band version of Barenaked Ladies' "Brian Wilson"? MADE OF WIN!), the anthem was good, it was a nice if cold day, we got our Christmas tree (and named it Katharen for its height and awkward looming ability), certified BAMF Eugeneia was on the poster... and then five minutes in, Da'Shena hit the floor and it all went downhill from there.

Nia Bradford looked like a woman desperate for playing time, and she was overzealous in her play almost to the point of cheap shots. It's one thing never to give up, it's another thing to throw hip checks down 30. Ewa Urbanowska showed reasonable physicality for a Euro, but her shooting form could use a little work. I'm assuming that Danielle Johnson hits more of her shots on most days, because she seemed like a jump shooter who was just off her game. I know Niesha Pierce and Bianco Heard played, but I don't remember what they did.

I'll be nice. I really like this freshman they've got, Jamierra Faulkner. I like her spirit, I like her instincts, and I like that she's classier than most of her teammates. She's got moves, she's got smarts, and she's got good hands. Some of her passes were a bit off, but I started to wonder if those were apologies for her teammates- and I thought it was interesting that she touched the ball early when they were trying to roll it. I also like Rachel Vigers. She's rough, but she's clean. She works hard on the boards and knows how to get her points in the paint. She's got a funky free throw routine that involves throwing the ball so high in the air that it could be a false shot. Geneshia Dunbar's foul trouble kept her from being much of a factor. I don't even remember the existence of Brittany Johnson. And then there was Tanisha Washington, who hooks arms like Plenette Pierson, throws elbows like DeLisha Milton-Jones or Lisa Leslie, and would probably have felt right at home with Bill Laimbeer's Bad Girls. The part where she was swaggering back down the court after Coco went down the first time was sickening (and there was insult to that injury, but to be fair, I don't think she could have known that Coco's family flew in from Memphis). She took shots at all of our post players, plus Keylantra and Shenneika. And it was almost like she had a checklist: "okay, Stevens is out, go after Hart; okay, Hart is out, go after Blanding; Hart is back, go after Hart; Hart's out again, go after Blanding; got a hit in on Blanding, go after Shahid-Martin".

And their coach allowed all this to happen- and from her play-calling and sub patterns, encouraged it. Sickening. Obscene. Embarrassing. Unprofessional.

Because of her thumb, Nadirah was coming off the bench anyway, and she did a nice job of setting things up and making the plays she needed to make. Jennifer played reasonably well, and for the first time in the year and change she's been here, really threw her weight around and made it clear that she and her team were not to be trifled with. She still can't hit a bunny to save her life (or without hopping- one basket was wiped off the board for a fairly blatant travel), but I liked that she didn't let us get pushed around. Zakiyyah played well, especially when she had to step up and be a certified BAMF- needs to work on her ballhandling and grip, especially under pressure, but she's a freshman, and you can let that pass to an extent with the last player off the bench. Keylantra also really impressed me, and if you've been following the Game Notes of Doom for any length of time, you know that I've been very hard on her. Her defense was better than I've seen it all year, and she made it clear that she wasn't taking crap from anyone. Buzz had an amazing tip-in at the first-half buzzer (which I thought came after the buzzer, but I'll take it) and had very active hands. She also stepped up her shooting when our numbers really began to dwindle. I like that kind of leadership out of a sophomore.

Da'Shena hardly played- her concussion came less than three minutes into the game! If this were Twitter, I'd have hashtagged that #cmonson. Coco was overdoing it in the first half, trying too hard to look good for her family, and she was knocking away a lot of stuff she could probably have gotten her hands on, but she looked a little better before the first trip and shortly after halftime. Sky's shot selection was a bit more questionable than usual, but her defense was pretty good. Shenneika went for style points on a few too many shots (I wonder if she thought there were scouts). Her work on the boards was great- there was one play where Sky got the steal and blew the fast break- but Shenneika was there with the putback.

Eugeneia gets her own paragraph, because she was just that awesome. Her shots were falling, her defense was good, her hands were active, she took no crap from anyone, and she made all the plays she needed to make. As much as Buzz's tip-in would normally have been the play of the game, her hoop-and-harm after Shenneika went out to bring us down to four was just what the doctor ordered. She was the rock that steadied us when everyone was falling. This game, and especially that second half, really showed her mettle. Buzz, Zakiyyah, and Keylantra showed what they were made of too, but Eugeneia especially proved that she can be a leader if she's called upon.

I'm not happy with this officiating crew. They let things get out of hand, and didn't steady it until after half our team was out with injuries. If players are tripping, slue footing, undercutting, elbowing, and hooking, perhaps it should be called before the last regular starter leaves the floor? Just as a thought?

In case it was not clear from other game notes, the young Aricos very much take after their mother. Trevor was lecturing the referees from his seat in the bleachers after Coco was injured. "I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to them."

Monique McLean sighting! By the end of the game, I thought Kim was going to ask her to grab a jersey. (And we had a spare white one, too. Sure, it was meant for a broad-shouldered post player, but we can work with that.)

I love my team far more than is healthy. They were amazing today.

Read More...

Summary only...

December 20th, 2009: UAB at UT-Arlington (Chartwells Holiday Classic)

Comments on this entry are closed- please comment on the mirror post over at Swish Appeal.



That was an ugly game. That was so obviously a consolation, "you were brought here to lose and you did an excellent job of it yesterday", "no one here actually cares about you guys except maybe the fifteen people you brought with you" game. But damn it all, it was part of what we paid for, and no snowstorm was going to keep us away.

The arena wasn't really into the second day of the tournament. The men's tournament started today over at the Garden, so the band, the mascot, and half the dance team were all over there. I wish they'd taken all the dancing girls and left us the band, though we made use of that section later.

Anthem performance was a pre-recorded orchestral version. I can't say I objected.

I can't say enough about the clutch nature of UAB's bench. No one ever had a lot of plays, but everyone had one or two clutch plays. Nakia McDaniel hit a couple of big threes to stretch the lead. Khalilah Watson was in for key moments down the stretch. Erica Simpson hit a couple of contested shots. Everyone chipped in somehow. I like that in a team.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Amanda Peterson. There was a point in the first half where the score was UTA 19, Amanda Peterson 11. She ended with 17, 14 of them in the first half and the last three as the last shot for the Blazers. Jala Harris took a while to get started, but once she got started, she added back a dimension to UAB's offense that made them much more dangerous. Amber Jones got into some foul trouble and didn't get started. Miteka Truehart didn't play much in the first half, but made good defensive stands in the second half. Tamika Dukes went strong to the basket on both ends of the floor, and had a great finish on a pass from Jones.

I'll give Arlington credit for being balanced. Of course, that's not saying very much when they totaled 46 points. They really seemed to be throwing things at the wall to see what would work. Tamara Simmons worked, unlike yesterday, when she was so bad she didn't seem to be on the floor. Just so many turnovers, so many traveling calls and dumb plays. There were a lot of points in the game where we wondered if anyone actually wanted to win, that's how bad things were.

All-tournament teamer Meghan Nelson was the only bright spot for the Mavericks, and the only player to get into double figures for them. Shalyn Martin couldn't get much started- I think they were calling her for travels on the moves she was getting away with yesterday, because there was an inordinate amount of traveling being called. The quiet allowed us to hear Kiarra Shofner directing traffic, which is something I like to hear from a player. Kiara Parker got the start for this game and got into a lot of foul trouble. Same for Veronica Mergerson, who was pretty effective yesterday.

I really wasn't sure what those refs were doing, but I kinda liked that I recognized one of them from yesterday's game because she showed up in street clothes. Doing your homework- brilliant!

Poor UAB. I don't think anyone came up to support them. I guess the depression hit Alabama worse than Texas. We rooted for them, though, because fire-breathing dragons are very cool.

It was such an ugly game that we had more fun trying to figure out descriptions for how ugly it was than watching the game itself. But if we hadn't been there, we might not have been in the mood for the second game...

Read More...

Summary only...

December 19th, 2009: UAB at Virginia Tech (Chartwells Holiday Classic)

Comments on this post are closed- please comment on the mirror post at Swish Appeal


Shame on the people who left the doubleheader early. Even by five-thirty, it wasn't snowing hard enough to be a hazard, but more of the UT-Arlington fans stuck around than did the St. John's people (as few of them as there were). Much respect for the Virginia Tech fans who made it up in this weather, though. I know a bunch of them were there for one of the Hokies who's from New York, but still.

Because my mother ran into a friend of one of the Blazers at the bus stop and brought her over to sit with us, we were rooting for UAB in that game. Their coach is very... intense. And tall. And I don't know if she intended for her sharp skirtsuit to be in Virginia Tech maroon, but it was, and it was beautiful.

There was a bit of roster fail with the cards that St. John's gave out; #25, Erica Simpson, was not listed, which was inconvenient when she picked up two fouls and a field goal in the second half. Khalilah Watson played a lot in the second half and overtime. Shelly Breaux had a well-timed lay-up. LaKenya Lowe had a good putback. TaRonda Randall needs to learn how to control her body, because she can be a lot more effective that way. Unfortunately, the player who had us rooting for UAB, Meagan Brown, didn't get in the game. I feel vaguely cheated. It's okay, though; the lady we sat with was very cool. One thing that impressed me about UAB's bench was their ability to make big plays down the stretch.

Wow, Amanda Peterson's shooting. She was taking threes from deeper than NBA range- and some of them were going in. She's the kind of player who goes to the floor for hustle plays, too. I'd love to see her go up against another redheaded firecracker, Mickel Picco from BC. Jala Harris hit some ridiculous shots, and took some ridiculous shots; there was one point where I found myself yelling, "You're not Mark Jackson! I know it's easy to get confused here, but you're not Mark Jackson!" I like Amber Jones's feistiness, though she has the strangest shot I believe I've ever seen, and that's impressive, because I've seen a lot of shooters. Big block for Tamika Dukes, who really upped her game in the second half and the overtime and helped the Blazers come back from a five-point halftime deficit. If they'd been able to hit their free throws late, they might have pulled this game off.

Virginia Tech has a lot of sweet strokes, and they brought a lot of players with size, which worries me for tomorrow. Nikki Davis impressed me off the bench late in the game- she had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, whether it was to get her shot in or get a steal or a rebound. Shani Grey was really good at being in the wrong place at the wrong time, in contrast to Davis. Abby Redick's a bruiser- I think Coco's going to need an ice bath tomorrow.

Senior Lindsay Biggs might get a look by pro scouts (or who at least should get a look from scouts), because she's a strong guard with a pretty shot. IMO, she's worth at least a camp look. Utahya Drye has a way of getting to the line that doesn't bode well for tomorrow. Shanel Harrison was handicapped by foul trouble, so she didn't get to do much. Brittany Gordon worried me, but she doesn't impress me. She should be taking more shots than she is- there were two occasions that I can think of off the top of my head where she had the ball in good offensive position, close enough to the basket for a good shot, with the defense too far away to do anything about it, and she passed off instead. Brittany, you're six-four and broad-shouldered. GO TOWARDS THE HOLE. (But not until Monday.) The player who really impressed me for Virginia Tech is just a freshman, Alyssa Fenyn, the New York kid who brought family, even if I don't know where Newark, NY is. (I know where Newark is in Joisey, and I think I could find it in Delaware, but Newark, NY is a new one for me.) She's strong, she's tough, and she gets things done. She's still a rookie in some ways, up to the technical she got when she got tangled up with Khalilah Watson. Great potential, though.

Another unevenly reffed game, but I think after they gave the techs, things settled down.

The Blazers never gave up. Whatever Coach Smith said in the locker room at the half, they started rebounding and following their shots much better than they were in the first. A lot of tenacity, a lot of toughness. They just don't have the height or the gas to go the full forty... or forty-five, as the case may be.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's games, even if they start an hour earlier and we'll be tromping through the snow to get to the arena. Just remind me to bring my umbrella.

Read More...

Summary only...

December 21st, 2008: Houston at Buffalo (Chartwells Holiday Classic)

Houston Cougars 80, Buffalo Bulls 62

Houston holds a lead this time, and long skinny posts are all the rage.


Okay, we've now established that Houston likes to build big leads and Buffalo isn't all that good. Sorry, Coach Hill-McDonald. You were really nice to the strange Liberty fan, and those bony posts of yours are fun to watch on the boards, but your team's got a long way to go.

Courtney Taylor is something else, I'm starting to think. Around the face a little, she looks like Thompson, and she's got game with some range. A nice array of moves, and killer on the boards, too. I'm still liking Brittney Scott, too. If nothing else, it always amazes me when a sophomore jumps the queue to become a team captain. We got to see a little more of their bench today, as Houston let up on the Bulls. I like Jasmine Johnson a lot. But just in general, they've got a good passing game- I'd say most of their turnovers were on technical violations, not on bad plays. With only the one senior, I think the next couple of years will be good for the Cougars- which is good, women's hoops fans in Houston could use a boost.

Despite allowing 80 points, Buffalo did have some great defensive plays. Brown, Matthys, and Kendricks all had nice blocks, and Hedderson and Kendricks were all over the boards. Holmes dueled well with Houston's Landry- I do love to watch the small guards go at each other. Am I wrong for that? Hitting their free thows might have made a difference, and I'll give Hill-McDonald a lot of credit for adjusting her lineup as quickly as she did- she almost completely shuffled her starting lineup from the St. John's game, taking the players who played well in that game and giving them the start this time 'round.

Play of the game for Houston: Roxana Button's steal and fast-break layup. It was a thing of beauty.

Play of the game for Buffalo: Brittany Hedderson's rebound and save on the baseline.

Extremely inconsistent refereeing. And the crew chief was behind some of the worst calls.

Apparently, I spent more time pondering the folks in the stands than I did the game. Recee was hanging out with one of the Houston families, and the crew for the next game was watching from a corner. I was very tempted to ask them about some of the questionable calls, but I thought that might be either tacky or creepy. Still, there's nothing quite as heart-warming as Denise Brooks-Clauser watching the halftime biddy game and cheering on the little kids, at one point yelling "Shoot it!" to one of them.

It's going to be a long season for the Bulls in the MAC, but I think it'll be a good season for the Cougars in C-USA.

Read More...

Summary only...

December 20th, 2008: Houston at Boston College (Chartwells Holiday Classic)

Boston College Eagles 62, Houston Cougars 56

Just when Houston thinks they have it in the bag, enter Mickel Picco, and let the butt-whooping begin.


I'll tell you, I think we were the only St. John's fans not directly related to players who actually stayed for the second game. Not that there weren't fans- Boston College and Houston both traveled pretty well, considering the weather in New England and the distance from Texas. (Kelly's mom cheerfully reported eight inches in Massachusetts and more expected tomorrow. Bless her heart for coming out here as religiously as she does- and the rest of the family, too.)

The Houston folks were really nice to us. My mom's got bigger cojones than I do, and it was driving us absolutely nuts where we thought we'd seen one of their assistants before. I'm now relieved that I didn't completely hallucinate recognizing Amanda Barksdale's name (from "Nice Girls Finish First"). We thank them for their patience with the strange St. John's fans next to them.

Brittney Scott reminded us both a lot of Vickie Johnson, in terms of style, look, and ability to keep her team together. Courtney Taylor brought the offense. And the rebounding. And some very powerful blocks. I rather liked Jasmine Johnson, too. We were sort of rooting for Roxana Button, because we were sitting by her family, and she did have a nice steal to set up a bucket by Johnson. For a freshman, she's not bad. Not bad at all. Landry seemed to be pushing too hard sometimes. They have some really big girls on that team- Ashlee Joseph and Cobilyn Hill both made me go o.O "wow, everything is bigger in Texas!" I like Hill, despite her penchant for fouling- she's got a good head for the game.

Coach Crawley was rocking a very nice suit, which says a lot for a woman as tall as she is. I was disappointed in Carolyn Swords- she played really well against us last year, but she seems to have become a lot more passive, consistently getting beaten to balls that she should have without contest. Murphy wasn't so hot on the offensive end, but late in the game, she did a great job of forcing the Cougars to change their shots. Lauren Whitehurst might actually have been the best defensive post to play for BC today, or at least the most interesting. Ayla Brown, for much of the game, seemed to be the only Eagle who was into the game. Brittanny Johnson looks so disconcertingly like St. John's Coco Hart that there was a point late in the game where I- sleep-deprived and exhausted from four hours of basketball- genuinely wondered what the fuck Coco was doing checking in for Boston College. Jasmine Gill did her damnedest to keep Boston College in the game in the first half, but she just wasn't enough, and they were getting doubled up at halftime, 28-14.

And then the second half started and Mickel Picco took over. I've been to WNBA games, I've been to college games all over the place, I've seen some of the best players in the world. And in all the games I've been to, I've never seen a player completely dominate a stretch of the game and singlehandedly wrench the tide in her team's direction the way that redheaded firecracker did in the first 10:08 of the second half. She had two points at halftime. She finished with 29. Looking back at the play-by-play, 22 of her points were in those ten minutes; her two steals in that time also resulted in three points for the Eagles.

I still think Crawley climbed the ladder too fast. In that first half, she looked completely lost, and there were a couple of situations where no one was sure who was supposed to be coming into the game. Maybe it was just a one time thing, but I'd worry about that, and about Swords's game, if this goes on tomorrow.

Dennis, you disappoint me. Your crew did a crap job today, especially in the first half, which could best be described as slop-and-go. After two great games, this is below your standards.

Play of the game: Mickel Picco from the far corner. Kinda happened a lot.

So I'm really looking forward to the shootout tomorrow between Little Sista and Picco.

Read More...

Summary only...

December 6th, 2008: Marshall at Seton Hall

Seton Hall Pirates 73, Marshall Thundering Herd 52

Marshall is outclassed, Seton Hall forces trips to the line, and Patti Fernandes rocks the Game Notes' world.


That was very much a classic example of what should happen, all other things being equal, when a C-USA team visits a BEast team. Maybe the mid-major makes it interesting for a while, then the major conference team turns up the jets and blows the doors off the mid-major, beating them with depth and/or better players.

I'll be honest here. Marshall's not a very good team. I think they're in over their heads in C-USA. There are flashes of moments from some players, but there are a lot of fundamental flaws on that team- the discipline is questionable, most of the shooting forms are abominable, the passing isn't all that great. Maybe that can be excused by a good team having a bad day. There's just something that doesn't sit right with me about them. I do like the Brit they have, Chantelle Handy. If she can get her shots to go down and learn to be a little more aggressive on the boards, she'll have a better shot at making a name for herself. Alyssa Hammond has similar potential and similar problems (though she really doesn't have a national team to shoot for the way Handy does). And other than the tactless tackle at the end of the game, I liked Rashedah Henriques- she seemed to have her head in the game in a way that most of her teammates didn't. Casey Baker had a nice pass to Hammond and a nifty steal in the first half. Tynikki Crook fouled out really quickly, which is probably why we saw so much of Hammond. Barnette shot a lot and lost her temper near the end of the game. Whoever arranged for 5'0" Tania Walters and 6'7" Kamille Lisonbee to take their practice shots next to each other has a strange sense of humor. I found it amusing that the team got more pumped from the Seton Hall band than Seton Hall did. Amping the crowd up: ur doin it wrong.

Nicole Emery, good Lord. She threw down three blocks and almost had a fourth, some of them quite authoritative, one that ended with her recovering the ball and taking it coast to coast for the layup. Suh-weet. And the rest of her offensive game wasn't bad either. Noteisha Womack had her double-double, but scout's honor, three of those twelve rebounds were off her own misses on one possession. She looks like a baller, and I know she is a baller, but this wasn't the best game I've seen from her. I was, however, extremely impressed with the freshman Kandice Green. Off the bench, she really gave the Hall a spark. Yeah, she made a couple of freshman mistakes, but freshmen do that kind of thing, and I think she has the potential to be their next star player once Womack graduates. What I liked about both Emery and Green today was that they got to the line. Especially when going into BEast play, they're going to need those calls and those free throws to have a fighting chance against the rest of the middle of the pack. Kashmere Joseph appears to have improved from the last time I saw her, but that's not saying very much. She's lost the chip on her shoulder, but she also looks like she put on weight. Unfortunately, they really don't have much size behind her, because Whitney Wood looks like a project at best. Shantel Brown still runs that offense quietly and somewhat efficiently, though Baker made her life hell. Jadis Rhodin, whose perimeter shooting has always given me nightmares, put the dagger in, and Green's first make was off a dandy pass from her. Great hands by Womack and Brown on the defensive end, too.

We originally thought the crew chief was DeMayo, which only would have been funny because that would have been the third game I saw him at this season, and I'd start to wonder. I did recognize one of the linesmen from the Stony Brook game, Patti Fernandes, which was a good thing- the Stony Brook game was exceptionally well called. This one wasn't quite as well-officiated- a few blatant infractions and fouls went uncalled, and they seemed to bring the hammer down on Marshall once the Herd got into the penalty, but again, they caught a lot of the stuff that doesn't usually get caught, and the communication was excellent. They weren't afraid to confer with each other to make sure the call was right. Perhaps Fernandes will get her own crew in the near future?

I can see why Seton Hall plays well at home. The way things are set up, at least for the first half, the opposition is driving into the teeth of a ruckus from the cheerleaders, the mascot, the Seton Hall bench, and- when allowed- the band. It's a tight, close, space. Of course, this doesn't really explain why Marshall ended the first half with a lead, or why they so completely imploded in the second. But I can imagine what Walsh Gym must be like when it's full- wow. Not quite a cauldron of noise, if only because it's too small to be a proper cauldron, but that place must rock when it's full. And they've been redoing it a bit, as much as they can, given that it's an ancient facility nestled in a new building. There's much shiny to be had. If you're in the area, I'd really recommend checking out a game sometime- I'd recommend either Colorado on December 9th, Notre Dame on January 3rd, or Marquette on January 10th- all of those promise to be very interesting matchups.

Yes, I’m still a St. John's fan. That doesn't mean I can't shill for other teams. I'm a fan of the game first.

Read More...

Summary only...